RIAA wants LimeWire closed for good

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is requesting a U.S. federal judge to  close the popular LimeWire file sharing program due to a large number of copyrighted files being shared through the program.

Last month, it was revealed LimeWire, still a popular peer-to-peer file sharing program, could be in serious danger of being closed.

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"Every day that LimeWire's conduct continues unabated guarantees harm to plaintiffs that money damages cannot and will not compensate," a letter written by the RIAA to U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood reads.  "The scope of the infringements that Lime Wire induced...boggles the mind."

After the summary judgment granted last month, RIAA lawyers said the company still hasn't done anything to "change its illegal ways."

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If found liable, LimeWire and the company's founder, Mark Gorton, will face monetary fines up to $450 million -- and could be forced to shut down the service if changes aren't made in the near future.

The RIAA and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) continue their campaign against P2P piracy, which they believe has cost both trade groups millions of dollars.  The RIAA used John Doe lawsuits to sue thousands of alleged file sharers, but is now focusing on shutting down P2P services while getting ISPs to boot file sharers.

Even if LimeWire is shut down permanently, I still don't think this will leave a significant dent in P2P file sharing.  There are still numerous other P2P services, and several based off LimeWire itself, and file sharers will still be able to track down music.

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